All's Fair in Love & Time War (A Doctor Who Fanfiction)
by Write4EVAandeva
Summary: Things dont exactly go as planned for Nicolette and her friend Toast on their trip back to London. After a strange encounter with a quirky man who calls himself The Doctor, both get swept of their feet into time and space. Is Nicolette really what she seems? Toast is hiding a secret she doesn't fully understand; will the Doctor come between these best friends? rated A for awesome.
1. Chapter 1

"Don't you just hope we will meet One Direction!?" Sarah giggled annoyingly, making a face at me.

"Oh gosh…NO," I threw her a look, and she laughed, "Don't even mention it, Toast."

"I mean…seriously, who the HECK smiles at the ground?" She rolled her eyes pointedly.

"You're telling me? Don't forget I despise them as much as you do!"

We laughed, slapping each other high fives like we were kids. "TROLOLOLO!" Toast whispered in the seat next to me.

I made my "Don't make me laugh I will kill you" face, which consisted of pursing my lips, making my eyes huge and tilting my head, trying desperately to keep it together, now was NOT the opportune time. We were on a plane headed for London right now, and the plane was very quiet…so quiet we could practically hear ourselves breathing…and seeing as our friendship was like the dynamic of most best friends…when we were together it was a feat just to keep us quiet and serious for more than about 10 minutes. The plane ride had already been about 4 hours…and our patience was SERIOUSLY running thin….

Toast turned to me… "You know what's SUPER awkward?" she had that look on her face that told me I wanted to know.

"What?"

"When you go to hug someone extremely sexy and you hit the mirror."

My hand flew to my mouth, and I choked on my laughter. I almost burst out loudly, but I wasn't given the chance because at that exact moment a man's voice said, "Yeah…I have that problem a lot."

I looked over into the aisle of the plane; standing next to a cart of juices and snacks was a tall, trim man in a blue suit with messy, ruddy brown hair, bold frame glasses, red converse shoes, and a sly smile playing over his lips.

"Peanuts?" he offered.


	2. All's Fair in Love & Time War (ch 2)

Apparently controlling my laughter was becoming a frequent problem for me, because at this obvious show of bravado I let out a snicker that sounded like thunder in the quiet plane.

"Sure, I like peanuts…."

The man's eyebrows rose at my obvious British accent, then he smirked, reaching into a compartment near the bottom of the cart. While his back was turned, Sarah shot me a look. Eyebrows upturned, unashamedly mischievous smile on her face, and laughter in her eyes. I returned this with one of my casual 'stuff it pronto!' faces. Sarah sniggered a bit loud; thankfully the man didn't notice do to hitting his head rather hard on the cart as he stood back up, peanuts in hand.

I bit my lip to keep from laughing yet again; I could feel the corners of my mouth turning up into what I was sure expressed a devilish grin. The man licked his lips and nodded, painfully aware of his own clumsiness as the tips of his big ears flushed pink. Another moment passed without either of us speaking a word, Toast and I smirking, the man standing in the aisle beside us embarrassed.

"You may want these." In one swift movement his left arm shot out, handing the peanuts to me, seeing as I was sitting in the seat open to the aisle, it was easy for me to grab them. As I lifted the crinkling bag out of his slender fingers our hands touched and I couldn't control the blush that flooded my cheeks.

The man smiled at my reaction, and thoroughly mortified I tried to recompose myself, "Don't think I've ever seen a bloke for a flight attendant." I smiled.

"Well…I'm not a regular bloke."

I smirked, looking over his trim suit; suddenly I spoke brashly, completely forgetting my manners. "'Suppose not."

Toast leaned over, making no effort to be discreet and giggled "Stop flirting Nicolette!"

There was no mistaking the way the man's eyebrows shot sky high, one corner of his mouth pulling up, grinning cheekily, his tongue peaking over his lips as he tried not to laugh.

"Flirting?" The word was meant casually, but I definitely heard the implication.

"Oh…NO! No I wasn't…" I stuttered out the words, backpedaling furiously.

His face turned to mock seriousness, "Of course not."

I rolled my eyes, "Don't take it personally I mean…I would…"

His eyebrows shot up, his voice peeling up an octave in surprise, "You…would?"

"NO!" I had lost all tact, I tripped over my words. "I DON'T do that kind of thing."

"Oh no, you're far too sophisticated for that kind of behavior."

I could hear the playful sarcasm I his tone. I was having no luck with this situation. "Exactly," I said, "That's, that's what it is."

He nodded unconvincingly, this time it was his turn to wear the devilish grin. "Yeah….you're obviously far too classy to be bothering with a regular bloke like me."

"But," I spoke impulsively, "You're not a regular bloke, didn't you just say so yourself?"

"OH YES!"

At this moment I watched through astonished eyes as he turned to another flight attendant, pulling a small device from his suit pocket and pointing it at her. She barely had time to cock her head before a high pitched whiny noise filled the plane. A tremor ran through her body and she collapsed on the floor in front of her cart. With wide eyes, I resisted the urge to scream. The whole plane was quiet, not one peep from any of the other passengers.

"WHAT? WHAT WAS THAT?" Toast chimed in from beside me, her voice shrill.

"Slitheen Cybermen hybrid, armed, extremely dangerous!"

Finally I managed words, suddenly, inexplicably ticked that this strange, regrettably handsome man, had disturbed my tranquil plane trip. "OH, yeah THAT'S what it was!" I unbuckled my seat belt and stood swiftly, "FUNNY, I didn't know they made THOSE!"

Taken by surprise, one of the man's eyebrows rose confusedly, "Well, me neither exactly….but, but that's not especially the point?"

"WHO ARE YOU!?"

"I'm the Doctor."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh, that's cute! DOCTOR WHO?"


	3. Chapter 3

Hands grasped at me suddenly, lots of hands from all around, on all sides. The passengers of the plane all attacked, each and every one of them turning on us. I screamed. Sarah gasped. The Doctor rolled his eyes, and grabbing both our hands in his he yelled loudly, "REALLY? Every time? EVERY TIME!" He reached his hand high in the air, and afraid, I shut my eyes. I could feel the pressure of all the passengers crowding in on us; they fumbled at our cloths, with heavy hands they squeezed hard. The whiney noise filled my ears again, and the sound of an airlock being loosed resounded, bouncing of the tin can walls of the plane. The passengers moaned at the sound. I expected not to be able to breathe, but instead I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey…Common open your eyes," I opened them. The man standing in front of me, looking at the palpable fear carved into my face, "We have to go, now." He said, "Up through the airlock!"

"Are you crazy?" I managed, "That's the outside of the plane!"

"JUST GO!" The passengers were ravenous hungry beasts, they looked but were not human. I glanced over to see Toast already halfway through the opening, one foot just leaving the top of the seat. I was in a black pencil dress and heels, my hair in swooping curls. With a huff I yanked the heels off my feet, stepping onto the top of the seat, kicking sporadically at the hands that reached to tie down my ankles. I climbed up through the airlock into…a large room with a huge round cylinder contraption in the center. The Doctor came up right after, pelting the clawing people still on deck with packages of peanuts.

"You…" he threw a menacing salty treat at one, "Are THE MOST…" one more hit one of the passengers square in the jaw, "ANOYING alien race," he chucked the last of the packages with expert aim. It hit a burly looking man in the eye, "I have EVER had to deal with!"

He kicked the hatch in the floor that we had climbed through shut, and ran by us without a glance, pulling on the levers around the cylinder, pressing buttons and whacking bells with a sledge hammer until a whirring noise sounded, and the room began to shake. I wobbled on my legs, Toast reached over, grabbing me, it was enough to send us both tumbling to the floor with a yelp. The Doctor looked over and smirked cheekily, with a chuckle, then wiped the grin off his face in a hurry. Toast and I clung to each other, or anything else we could reach and closed our eyes.

Soon the whirring stopped and the room became stable again. I stood with a huff and helped Toast, brushing myself off. I nearly rushed up to the man again, about to demand an explanation, when I stopped. I thought before I spoke, realizing that this man had just saved our lives, even if he had simultaneously kidnapped us in the process. I looked over at Toast, but I had lost her attention. Her eyes were wide, looking around the room in awe. I let her be, walking slowly over to the man, who leaned against the cylinder calmly.

"Thank you," I said, "Doctor…for saving our lives."

He shrugged, I couldn't help smirking.

"No really I appreciate it."

He nodded with a smirk, "Well I should hope so." He chuckled.

He looked over at my expression; I didn't know exactly what to do with the comment, I didn't know anything about him.

"I…I was kidding." He put up his hands in surrender, his eye brows shooting up.

I flushed, "I must have given off a pretty scary impression if you are afraid of me after a comment like that." I stated embarrassed.

The doctor made a face.

"I'm sorry." I said genuinely, "I was…afraid."

The expression on his face turned serious, "Its ok." He said sympathetically, "I understand."

I nodded, holding back all my questions.

Toast came over, with a dead pan face, her eyes still floating around the room, she interrupted us, "Done philandering about, Nicolette?" That was Sarah, always brash, never afraid to make it awkward.

Both the Doctor and I looked to the side as silence fell.

"Well?" She smirked, but I could tell it was a fake smile, and that she really was more shocked than she was letting on, "Can someone tell me what is going on here? And WHO is he? And why were the passengers acting weird on the plane?" The fish necklace she always wore hung loose around her neck. For the slightest moment the Doctor's eyes rested on it, and his eye brows knit into a line of confusion, dismissing it he prepared to give his breathy explanation.

"Have either of you seen Men in Black?" he asked chipper.

Despite how off topic the movie seemed to be, Sarah piped right in, "YES!" she emphasized, "I LOVE that movie, alien movies are awesome!" She grinned.

The Doctor chuckled at her enthusiasm, "Ok," he began, "It's kind of like that movie. I'm the Doctor, yes that is my name, and I sort of ride the waves of the time vortex all around the universe, and tend to pop up where there is trouble, monitoring alien activity. The creatures on the plane were Slitheen Cybermen hybrid, basically a Cyberman skeleton and mental capacity neurologically fitted to conform inside the body of a human, due to the extraction and rapid mitosis of cellular Slitheen morphing acids, injected into the flesh of the human, creating a mind blowing reproductive success rate. They are the cockroaches of the intergalactic continuum, really dangerous, violent, frankly intolerable cockroaches. Like armored cars…only….you know… roaches. Space…roaches."

Toast and I stared. "What your saying is you're an alien?" I started….

"And this is your ship?" Toast piped in….

"And we almost got killed by space roaches?" I finished my eyebrows sky high.

He didn't reply for a moment. He just sat with an expression on his face that told us he had been through this conversation before.

Finally he answered,"Well the roach bit was metaphorical."


	4. Chapter 4

I sucked in a breath, it was impossible. I had never, throughout all my life, believed in aliens. I couldn't grasp the concept.

"You're…not..." I wobbled on my feet a little, The Doctor reached to steady me, but I held up my hand, "This might be too much for me to accept…" the Doctor's eyes saddened, "…Right now." I finished.

I didn't want to believe it, I didn't want to let myself believe it, but nothing was impossible, and the room around us was unlike anything I had ever seen.

"You can go home now if you'd like." The Doctor said, "Just tell me where you live…I'll take you there."

Sarah looked me in the eyes, and behind hers I knew she was asking to stay, she was…rapt. I knew that for myself, if I went home now, never knowing if he was real or not, I would go mad thinking about it. I'm not one to forget something like this easily.

"N-No." I stuttered out shakily, quietly.

His eyebrows rose, "Hmm?"

"No," I said again, "I want you to prove it…can you, do that?"

"That's a first," He muttered hurriedly under his breath, "Of course I can." He smiled a bit, as if this was all in good fun for him, "Where do you want to go?"

My eyebrows shot up, I gave him a look and laughed good naturedly, "I suppose you expect me to have a name?"

"Right, right," he nodded, "Didn't think of that…." He paused for a moment, "OH! I know just the place!"

With a wink, and a grin he shoved a lever and Toast and I grabbed on to each other as we began to travel again. Soon the room stopped shaking, and The Doctor walked over from the table in the center.

"Barcelona!" he laughed. Both Toast and I's eyes shot up. "Though," he paused, "Maybe not as you expect it to be…the planet, Barcelona." He grinned confidently. He went to open the door when I cleared my throat.

"Doctor," I asked, "You wouldn't happen to have a pair of shoes, would you?"

He looked at my bare feet, my toes curling over the chilly floor, covered in their silky nylon skin.

"Ah, right…about that…." He walked over to me and took my hand, "Common." He smiled.

Hand in his, he lead me around the room and into another, Toast followed silently.

He opened the door to reveal a gigantic wardrobe, with racks of hanging clothing. Men's hung on one side, women's on the other. Shelves of shoes were stacked against the walls.

"Pick your fancy" he nodded at the array of footwear.

I combed through them, looking for my size. I found some heels, and with a smirk put them back. No more heels today, not for me.

I soon settled on a pair of black flats.

I held them up to him, "Thoughts?"

He smirked, "Perfect," he said, "You can't use them as a weapon, which means I'm safe!" He grinned.

"Oh, that's a clever quip!" I rolled my eyes, and slipped the shoes on my feet.

"Ready?"

I nodded, then noticing Toasts absence I turned. She came stumbling out of an array of frilly jackets, with a long colored scarf hanging around her neck, and fuzzy slippers adorning her feet.

The Doctors eye brows shot up, he looked at me, we exchanged a look. Without speaking a word the question was asked and answered.

"Right then, let's go." He turned to leave, I yanked Toast by the arm, who at that moment frantically kicked of the slippers, threw her shoes back on, yet kept the scarf.

We got to the door; he turned to both of us. Noticing the scarf, he smirked, "I used to love that scarf," he said, "Wore it all the time."


	5. Chapter 5

Sarah flushed, "Do you…want me to put it back?"

The Doctor's brown eyes grew old for a moment, but he snapped out of it before either of us could wonder why. "No, no…it's fine." He laughed to himself.

Toast shot him a confused look.

"Sorry," he saw her expression and commented, "It's only that you are the second "Sarah" to wear that scarf." He shook his head and chuckled, memories swimming behind his eyes. "Anyways, off we go!"

He looked over at me and raised one curving eyebrow. I watched his thumb and forefinger snap together, the doors flew open. An overconfident smile sugared his lips, his eye brows wiggled.

"Yes, yes very nice…" my sarcastic comeback died with a wheeze as I looked out the doors and my breath blew from my chest in a gust. Toast face nearly drained of color, her eyebrows shot up and her mouth fell slightly open. She started to walk out the doors when the Doctor walked over and took her arm to guide her steps. She was dazed, but not in too much of a distracted stupor not to feel his arm link with hers. She turned to him and shook her head.

Startled, he let go of her arm, "Sorry." She turned back to the scene in front of her. Well aware, despite his concerns, of where she was placing her feet.

It was painfully obvious that he was left by a loss as to what to do by her actions, he swallowed…fighting the urge to clear his throat. He blew out a quiet breath, his confidence slightly dampened. I looked over at him and felt a twinge of pity.

I really wasn't the type for this, I told myself, but this was another planet and he was alien. It didn't count. I leaned to the side a bit and nudged his elbow. He looked over at me. "Ok, so the snapping thing was a bit posh." I confessed.

His mouth dropped open just in the slightest, his dry lips parted. A fraction of a second past while he considered my compliment, his messy hair ruffled in the slight foreign breeze that blew across the extraterrestrial terrain. Slowly, a simple smile tugged itself into place. Not arrogant, not overzealous…neither looking to please. It was modest…it was a silent thank you.

We walked out of the doors onto a long ashen ramp running with veins of shining silver. Made of what looked like marble, it was slippery beneath the soles of my shoes. I tried my best to remain tactful. I was a naturally clumsy person at times, but I prided myself on class and respectability…and so it was in this situation that I was praying to God that I didn't slip unceremoniously. The sky was a dark gray, except just over the horizon where a vibrant burnt orange was starting to aluminate the atmosphere. The horizon had no mountains or hills; it stretched on in endless waters of bitter teal. The few rocks that did rise from the waters were jagged, like broken teeth and completely black. It was beautiful and mysteriously dark, smelling like salt water and a hint of incense.

"Ok…." The Doctor's voice floated though the alien air, a hint of treacherous uncertainty lingered in his tone like an omen.

"What?" Toast turned to him, "What is it?"

"Time frame…." He said.

"Time frame?" she responded.

I thought a moment. "OH no!" it hit me as if someone had just snapped the conclusion into existence.

He looked at me with huge wide eyes and biting his lip, but at my expression of fear, he turned guilty like a dog with his tail between his legs. He tried desperately not to break into the nervous smile that was crawling at the edges of his lips. "We should go…" he said.

We all turned at once to return to the TARDIS, confronted with the vintage blue doors of a police box slamming shut it in our face. It was a police box. My eyes grew large, he kept all of that in a police box?

The Doctor hissed in aggravation, "WHAT?"

He snapped. He tried his key. He used the small silver thing he had on the plane, though the annoying noise was not so loud in the open air. He stroked the wood coaxingly, nothing worked.

"Come on" his voice wavered, "you can't be dead locked."

"Doctor?" I set my hand on his shoulder, "Doctor why is it locked."

He whirled on me, "I DON'T KNOW!" he snapped. A desperate look was in his eyes. "I don't know."

My eyes widened. I shrunk away at his outburst, flabbergasted, and feeling assaulted. After I had given him a chance, been kind to him and gone out of my way and comfort zone for him…he responded like this? I breathed out a shocked, angry huff.

"Well when you find a way to open it," I tried not to lose my cool, "You can take me home."

He turned to me again, now my look of surprise was mirrored in his eyes. He saw the fear in my eyes.

"I think I have seen enough."


	6. Chapter 6

It was then he realized what he had done, how rudely he had acted. He cringed, "Oh Nicolette…I'm sorry. I can see how that came off…"

I breathed out slowly and fought the urge to respond with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

"Let's just try to open the door?"

He nodded, and again tried everything he seemed to know. When nothing worked, eyebrows curving down in frustration, he tried not to let the defeat show. He was making an effort to stay strong now, to resume a collected and confident air, after how he had acted. I sighed softly, moving my hand to my dark curling locks; I shoved a swath of it up and shook it through my fingers making it fall to the side a moment later.

I turned to the Doctor, "Well, let's make the best of it." I said with a smile.

"Would you like to explore?" he snickered.

"Why not," the sarcasm couldn't retain itself anymore, and was now garishly exposed. "It'll be an adventure!"

Underneath the sarcasm was a hint of excitement in my voice; the Doctor heard it and smirked again. "You do have a heart." He whispered.

I shot him a pointed stare, but couldn't keep a small smile from creeping onto my face.

I turned to Toast…who was...gone. She was completely out of sight, nowhere to be found. I started to panic, my eyes going wide and threatening to break with tears. Being stuck on an alien planet is one thing, but this was my best friend and that was a whole other story.

"TOAST!" I called out desperately, "Toast! Toast, where are you?"

There was no answer from the teal waves, sloshing against the ramp mockingly. There was no answer from the burnt orange sky, the black lethal rocks, or The Doctor. I turned to him, "We have to find her."

**(^*^)**

**hi. this is Toast, the person. i'm the muse to my own character, Sarah/Toast. (don't tell Writer; i hacked her account)**

**I can't say how thankful i am that you, the reader, are actually reading this. It's a great honor to me and my hacked friend :D **

**this is a very epic story you're reading, and i urge you to be patient and wait for the chapters to be uploaded. they come out slow, but i'm good at badgering, and that's what i'll do. thank you guys for reading! :D**

**oh, and hey. i added the profile pic above as a kind of easter egg for you guys. ;D first one to figure out what kind of flower it is recieves the great honor of bragging rights and sparkles of Dr. Who awesomeness and their right to choose their favorite companion to the Doctor in previous or continuing seasons, whether it be a long standing companion or one who lasted for just one episode. for example, i still completely ship Donna and that guy in the Silence in the Library episode but i never learned his name. if someone could also find that for me, i would love you forever.**

**quick hint for the easter egg: this flower has a huge, very deep meaning to the plotline ;D good luck, kiddies!**


	7. Chapter 7

Toast stood to the side, watching with a curved eyebrow as Nicolette and The Doctor duked it out. She rolled her eyes, glanced at the far end of the ramp. Ugh. She hated fights, whether she was part of them or not. Time could be spent doing so much more than fighting with someone.

She picked at the dirt under her nails for a moment, glancing down at the wide ramp as it moved and shifted with the waves. Toast stared at it, watching, _agh__, so bored._ Moving on from the couple, she silently walked around them to examine the Tardis. The color shone a royal blue, like any other dignified police ship_, very nice, very nice indeed. _

Toast froze as she reached the back of the Tardis, eyes widening. When her and the others exited the box, it seemed they were on an island, but now she saw. . . the ramp they rested on stretched far, far out as a solitary path. The material seemed a dark pavement, like fresh road pasted out, yet it was light and moved with the waves like wood. It continued out through the water and curved into what appeared as a canyon of dark rocks jutting from the moving ocean. The road disappeared from her view, so she couldn't see where it led to.

Peering on her toes, she stared along the pathway, casting one more sly glance to the arguing couple beyond her. Okay, weigh the options. They were apparently trapped on an island, which was on another planet. This Doctor guy didn't seem to say anything about it being dangerous, so it would be okay to walk around, just a ways, right?

Deciding to go for it, she tiptoed off.

Sure not to make any sound as she walked away, Toast took the time to take in her surroundings, which mainly consisted of water. She stared at the different shades of blue, green and white as the waves moved with the path; she felt excitement jump inside her as the pathway began to turn towards the black rocks. Behind her, she could still hear on the wind the sound of talking, the scattered conversation leaving her presence out of the picture.

_I'll just be behind these rocks a little, right around the bend. I'll just be in reach of them. It's not like I could go anywhere, _she reasoned with a smile, quickening her pace.

Toast gazed at the brilliant orange sky, the lighter toned clouds and the muted sun which seemed to warm this planet. She stared out over the water for any signs of life, though she didn't find so much as a whale's spout or pot a dolphin leap. It was a different planet after all, so things couldn't be completely the same.

Toast's eyes widened as the path finally opened up, and she gawked in amazement. A castle, or what appeared to be a castle from where she stood, towered far above anything else she saw today. It looked to be made of coral, possibly painted. The texture was rough and spongy in appearance. The walls were colorful in shades of blue, pink, yellow and green. Flags waved on the tower tops, and Toast needed to lean back to see the full extent of them.

"Well then, there must be something enchanted about it to make it not visible from back there," she speculated with a smile. Confidently, she continued towards it.

While approaching, Toast began to respect how really big it was. The pathway to it wasn't too far, and the castle overwhelmed it by comparison. At last she reached the door, not a soul in sight. She couldn't see anyone else, no one to guard the doors. Was it abandoned?

Curiosity outweighing caution, she reached her hand to the door and slowly pushed against it. Nearly no strength required, the door swung open easily and she entered into the dazzling, breath-taking room. She noticed the details; the walls, for one. They were _stunning_. Plating of silver and gold lined every inch of the room. The floor, wall and ceilings were completely adorned with the shining material.

Stands of items were laid in orderly procession along the embellished walls. Some resided in cases, while others were left for full examination. At once, Toast identified it was a museum.

"Maybe it's closed," she voiced to herself, carelessly walking forward without a thought. She walked through the halls freely, stopping for a moment when she heard the silent clack of keys against a typing board. Pausing and discerning where the sound was coming from, she paced off in the right direction.

Not long after, she found a large room, the ceiling high and shining glory as she stared at a coral-created desk. At it sat a lady, though different than she expected. By human standards, the woman was odd. Gills stretched from both sides of her face, and her lips were puckered in a shade of green. Her hair held a distinct gray-emerald sheen, and as Toast approached closer, her skin almost seemed to glimmer like a thousand scales.

_Another planet, another species,_ she looked at the lady who typed with scaly fingers, tipped with long, dangerous claws. A fish lady? The woman paid no heed to Toast, too immersed in whatever work she continued to give any attention to the normal human girl.

Now standing at the desk, Toast stared up at the sign above the woman's head. In big capital letters, it read _SCFUWE_. No subtitles donned beneath it, Toast went with the simple approach. She stood with her arms resting on the desk and asked in her most innocent, compliant voice. "So what is this place?"

Deciding to listen after being addressed, the woman looked up at her, flaps of skin on her face quivering back and forth as she spoke. "We are the Service Center for Underwater Exploration."

It took a moment for Toast to absorb this as she sat her chin on her arms, staring blankly at the woman. "Okay."

The fish lady raised an eyebrow. "Do you have any questions?"

Toast shook her head, "Um, no, not really . . . why? Should I?"

The poor woman seemed to be having a tiring day. She sighed long and slow before droning out, "If you wish to go with the procedure provided by the SCFUWE, you need to watch the video, fill out the form of consent, and pay the fee."

Deciding to play along (like she had any money on her-HA!) she asked in a friendly voice, "Okay. Can I watch the video then?"

The woman seemed to perk up a little more. She smiled, though it felt fake, "Of course. Follow me." She stood, and Toast followed as the fish lady led her to a darkened room with several seats aranged before a blank screen. She let herself be seated, and the woman walked to the back of the room, starting the intro DVD.

It started out with a fish-lady, kind of like the one Toast met, though her skin sheened a different shade. She talked of what SCFUWE stood for and how there were many positive reviewers from their tour. It escalated from there. Toast watched with raising eyebrows and her mouth dropping open in shock as the video finally concluded after several minutes. The lights flicked back on, and Toast felt herself twitch, as if she couldn't believe what she saw.

The fish-lady came back, and she asked with a slightly more interested voice, "So, would you like to proceed?" When she showed her teeth, they were all needle-sharp in lines like a shark.

Toast felt a sense of regret in her. "I don't have any money with me." She pulled a hand through her chestnut hair.

The woman smiled kindly. "Oh. Too bad."

Feeling this was a gesture for her to leave, Toast stood from the seat, adjusted the scarf, and began to head out the door. She thought of the Doctor and Nicolette back at the Tardis, how they were probably missing her by now. It would probably be best if she went back. . .

"Wait!" the fish-woman called. Toast turned as the woman faced her, and smiled kindly. "Tell you what, it's on the house today."

Toast's eyes widened. "Wow, really?"

She smiled, and nodded. "Yeah, sure. It's okay. And it's not too much for me."

Common sense prodded her insides. "I probably shouldn't. I have friends waiting for me and-"

The fish-lady looked all enthusiastic now, "Didn't you pay attention to the video? You can come back any time you're ready before the time runs out."

More confidence began to irk its way in Toast, making her consider the rash. She paused silently, thinking of the consequences. The effects were only temporary, so she would be back to herself in several hours, even less if she decided to come back early. It would be okay. . .

"Does it hurt?" she asked, voice sounding meager and small.

The woman smiled with her needle teeth. "Not a bit."


	8. Chapter 8

The Doctor's eyes were wide, "What, where….um, you didn't see . . . ?"

"No!...you?"

He shook his head. _Great! _I thought,_ Toast, I knew that tendency of yours to wander off would turn fatal one day, for all I know you could be dead! _Sudden images, horrible things, popped into my mind like a movie reel had been flipped on. I shut my eyes desperately; it had only been a little while…she couldn't have gone that far.

The Doctor poked his head out from behind the blue box… "She's not behind the Tardis." He confirmed the slowly wheezing death of our best chance. "Though," he saw my distraught look and slowly grabbed my elbow, guiding me behind the Box or _Tardis _as he called it (whatever that meant). He pointed and I followed his line of sight. Leading off as far as the eye could see was a path, about as wide as a road running through London, sculpted of the same black rock that stuck up here and there from the water. It laid atop the water, moving with the waves as they sloshed over the sides.

"It's the only way she could have gone," he said.

I nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Unless she can fly . . ."

I turned to him, my face twisted into a question.

His eyes were big and lips pursed as if the notion was possible. He felt my eyes; turning to me his eyebrows shot up, "What?"

"What yourself!"

His shoulders shrugged, "Just speculating… I have been to planets where things like that-"

"She can't fly!"

"Well," he accented the "w" and paused, "That settles that then, come along."

He tugged me by the hand as we set off running down the path. Our feet slapped against the damp surface as we did our best to balance on the shifting, moving trail. I nearly fell once, and the Doctor barely caught me. I had been straggling behind him, arm outstretched to keep ahold of his hand. A stray rift in the rock happened to be annoyingly positioned in just the right spot as to catch the tip of my shoe and yank it off, sending it, and nearly me, tumbling into the murky green waters surrounding us.

"AH!" he heard me yelp.

In a split second he turned round and his face burst into what could most efficiently be labeled as an _OH NO _face. He lurched toward me, arms outstretched.

My body had shifted out of balance, from forward facing and somewhat balanced on my two feet, to some strange contortion that resulted in a flailing attempt to return to the later position. My flailing proved counterproductive, and I ended up tipping towards the edge of the path. Thankfully, the Doctor was there to catch me; to my embarrassment, he wrapped both arms around my waist and yanked me into him. My feet left the surface for a moment, before he set me back down on them, gently letting me away from his body. I let out a shaky breath, one shoe missing and my face burning with chagrin; the whole humiliating ordeal took less than a moment and I brushed myself off and tried to compose myself, lifting my chin in forced bravado.

The Doctor sniggered just a bit, shook his head, and then cleared his throat; I saw the faintest rose of blush bloom over his complexion and he swallowed. "Well…you're alive, th-that's good."

I nodded, and stuttered out, "It is."

We kept running. Now we were just coming upon some rocks, jagged and uneven spires that stuck out of the water on all sides like a mouth studded with teeth.

"Nicolette," I looked over at The Doctor, "Please, don't fall here." His tone was teasing.

I shot him the dirtiest of looks; to my satisfaction he flinched, though he couldn't seem to keep a smug smirk from his lips, and to my surprise neither could I.

We turned a sharp corner, only to backpedal furiously when before us there towered a palace of dark stone. My eyes grew huge, and I turned to The Doctor, mouth hanging agape.

He smiled wide, "Yeah, I know!"


End file.
